Help me lighten up this CAAD7

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tehbry
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2012 5:19 pm

by tehbry

Hi everyone - I'm new to the WW scene, but have been riding and loving my CAAD7 for about 3 years now. I've slowly made some upgrades as I needed/wanted. Until recently, none of them were with weight in mind. That said, I'd really like to see this thing down around 16lb. It's currently at 18lb even on a bathroom scale (all I have at the moment).

I added a list of items and weights below (that are close or what I could find.) One question - can anyone help me identify my fork?

What are the cheapest/easiest upgrades I can start making?

Here she is:

Image

frame: 2004 caad 7 ultimo 1250 g
fork: alloy SI ultimo - ??
fd: 5600 - 110g
rd: 6500 - 220g
crank: R700 170 50/34 - 770g
BB: 6700 - 220g
brakes: 6500 - 339g
chain: 5600
shifters: 6600 - 490g
wheels: HED Jet 60 shown (1700g) neuvation r28 aero is my training wheel - 1630g
tires: Mich krylion - 230g each
tubes: Continental butyl -
cassette: 6700 11-23 - 199g
bars: deda zero 100 44 270g
stem: 3t arx pro - 130g
seatpost: thomson masterpiece 27.2 240 - 158g
saddle: specialized romin 143 - 239g
pedals: keo blade CroMo - 224g

Thanks. Happy tuning.

SDP
Posts: 688
Joined: Tue May 04, 2004 1:23 pm
Location: uk
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by SDP

everywhere...ride the hell out of it & upgrade as needed..great bike but you would be spending a lot of money to ww this...enjoy it

Sent from my GT-I8160 using Tapatalk 2

by Weenie


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majklnajt
Posts: 3637
Joined: Thu Apr 10, 2008 6:40 pm
Location: Lenart, Slovenia EUROPE

by majklnajt

Nice!
I would put on Sram Rival groupset, Thompson stem, white bartape, tyres with tan sidewall and unlabel the wheels.

lechat
Posts: 260
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 3:32 pm
Location: S.E. TN

by lechat

My '03 Caad7 is presently at 13.7lbs with alloy clinchers. Built it up from a NOS frame I got on eBay back in '09. Built with the parts I had on hand at the time it weighed ~ 16lbs. gradually fined tuned it via eBay. Pretty much a budget build. Most expensive parts were the frame and wheels. Both a hair under $300 shipped. Still has a bit of fat to be trimmed. The BWW Blackset wheels are 1431gms. + I found out the maxxis Flyweight rimstrips I'm using are heavier'n'ell. 1300gm wheels and a light cable setup will drop ~ 1/3lb.

TimmS
Posts: 424
Joined: Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:46 pm
Location: Amsterdam

by TimmS

wheels and groupset will be the most easy weight savings.
A CAAD7 is BB0 right? Then a Hollowgram would make A LOT difference!

tehbry
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 24, 2012 5:19 pm

by tehbry

Thanks for the suggestions. This CAAD7 is not BB30, unfortunately. I was thinking the brakes, crank, and maybe shifters could save some grams. Wheels definitely, but I'll save that upgrade for a bit down the road.

wiRIDEfast
Posts: 35
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2012 4:29 pm

by wiRIDEfast

You could find a full carbon fork off of ebay pretty easily that would save some weight, Then look at cassettes, crank, bars, saddle, and seatpost. Veloplugs instead of rim tape will save some weight. At 200g your bb is slightly heavy, should be able to find one around 98g-110g fairly easily off of ebay.

There are generic carbon seatposts on ebay that range in weight from 104-120g that are around $100. The seatpost collar is probably 20-30g as well so you could pick up one that weighs 7-12g and save some there. Stalking a saddle on ebay could get your saddle weight down to around 130g give or take, or you could go for the 90g generic carbon ones, though I have heard they are not the most comfortable.

I saw your FD is clamp on, get one of the 7g carbon clamps for around $12-25, some people say they suck but if you actually clamp them to the suggested Nm they work great. I put one on my wife's Caad5, no regrets.

Wheels would help a lot, but it will cost quite a bit unless doing generic chinese carbon or a lucky strike on ebay.

I'm sure you know there is a ton you could do to get it to shed some lbs but doing so on a small budget is hard. I have the same issue on all my bikes and builds. I just trade up parts as I come across them. They are always a work in progress but that makes sure I always have something to do and am never bored.

Camilo
Posts: 355
Joined: Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:31 pm

by Camilo

Check your fork. It's not alloy like you listed, but probably carbon fiber legs w/ alloy steer tube. It could be all CF, you should check.

If it is a stock fork, like was on my 03 or 04 CAAD7 R2000 (Slice Ultra fork), you can save 100-200 grams by buying an all carbon fiber fork.

My Slice Ultra fork, cut w/ starnut installed was about 550 grams. I replaced it with a moderately priced all CF fork which was about 390 grams, cut with compression plug. Without the plug it was probably a ~350-360 gram fork which is not super light, but considered pretty good. More expensive all CF forks can lose another 50+ grams, but at a cost of course.

If you check Ebay or discount/closeout type online sellers, you can often find name brand forks for reasonable prices considering the weight loss. But I'd remove and weigh my fork first to make sure there's significant weight savings to be had. And measure the length of steer tube you'll need, in case you find a good deal on a used fork - you'll be able to tell if it's long enough.

You could lose a couple of ounces with Michelin Pro Race tires - I've been using them for two sets, and find the mileage and durability very acceptable and really like the ride. about 215 grams each fwiw.

Other than that, some not extreme measures (in other words not uber-weight weenie, but moderately so): you can probably get down close to 200 grams with a lighter weight saddle (as long as you find one that's comfortable), around 200 grams with lighter bars (should be able to get to about 200 grams). No other obvious things other than the 1700 gram wheels are at least 200 - 300 grams heavier than even moderatly priced light alloy wheels.

by Weenie


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